Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14)
WASHINGTON—During today’s House Appropriations full committee markup of the 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies funding bill, Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) delivered the following remarks:
“Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose the Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill we are considering today.
Our veterans are heroes who have given so much to our country. Their sacrifices can never be fully repaid, but the least we can do is to provide them with high-quality healthcare and other benefits they are entitled to.
When they come home, they deserve to know that the country they fought for is going to deliver on its promises.
And today, we have the opportunity to keep those promises—but unfortunately, my colleagues across the aisle have chosen to join the Trump Administration in turning their backs on veterans.
To start, this bill takes a page right out of the Project 2025 playbook by wasting billions of taxpayer dollars to privatize veterans’ medical care—even though this approach will only lead to higher costs, longer wait times, and more barriers to care.
So while this Committee could be investing in vital, VA-based care that is consistently preferred by veterans and outperforms private community care, House Republicans have written a bill that will raise costs AND lower the quality of veterans’ care. This is unacceptable.
If that wasn’t bad enough, let’s talk about the PACT Act.
I was proud to support this historic, bipartisan expansion of health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances like burn pits and Agent Orange.
Since its passage, the VA has delivered new PACT Act-related disability benefits to more than 1.4 million veterans and over 14,000 survivors of veterans who died of a toxic exposure-related illness.
The PACT Act was a promise: if you put your life on the line for this country, we will take care of you.
But this bill breaks that promise by failing to provide guaranteed advance funding for the PACT Act’s Toxic Exposure Fund. Advance funding provides the certainty the VA needs to plan for and deliver consistent high-quality care for our veterans who were subjected to toxic exposures.
And it doesn’t stop there. This bill is packed with the same cruel, performative policy riders we see year after year. As a nurse, I believe health care is a human right—including the full range of reproductive health care services. But this bill blocks the VA from providing abortions or even abortion counseling.
It would force many of our veterans—like countless women across this country since the disastrous Dobbs decision—to wait till they are on their deathbeds to receive essential health care. It’s extreme, it’s deadly, and it’s anti-veteran.
The bill also underfunds military construction by $904 million, delaying critical infrastructure needs that are vital to our military readiness. That hurts recruitment, worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families, and undermines our national security.
But perhaps most alarming – this bill FAILS to stop the Trump Administration’s dangerous, unconstitutional effort to dismantle the Department of Veterans Affairs.
So far, the Trump Administration has illegally fired thousands of VA staff that support critical services like processing claims benefits and keeping the Veterans Crisis Line running, and they have cancelled more than 500 contracts. These cuts have interrupted veteran services and threatened the future of critical research from cancer treatments to suicide prevention.
And this is just the beginning.
Donald Trump’s VA Secretary has said publicly that the Administration’s goal is to reduce the agency’s staff by 15 percent –that’s 80,000 fewer professionals working to keep our promises to those who have served this country and many future generations of veterans left behind.
Already I have heard from veterans in my District about the distress caused by these impending cuts. At my most recent town hall, one veteran who has sought mental health care at the VA since the 1970 shared his concerns about the future of his care in midst of these impending cuts.
Another constituent of mine reached out via email and shared that “veterans that use the center for mental health issues are having anxiety attacks over the issues at the VA.” This is the real cost of the Administration’s decisions.
And instead of standing up for our veterans, my Republican colleagues have written a bill that rubber stamps the Administration’s illegal and cruel acts.
For all these reasons and more, I cannot support this bill.
Our veterans deserve better. They deserve a Congress that honors their service—not just with words, but with action.
They deserve a fully funded VA, access to comprehensive health care—including reproductive care—and a government that keeps its promises.
I ask my colleagues across the aisle to do the right thing, stand up for veterans, and reject this misguided bill.”
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MIL OSI USA News –